South Africa football boss, who led World Cup bid, arrested on fraud charges

South African football chief Danny Jordaan, who helped bring the first-ever FIFA World Cup tournament to Africa, has been arrested on fraud and theft charges.

Jordaan is accused of using about R1.3 million ($72,372) of South African Football Association (SAFA) funds to hire a PR firm and a private security company for his personal benefit.

Jordaan is president of the association and led the country's World Cup bid committee which secured the rights to host one of the biggest sporting events in South Africa in 2010.

His arrest follows a raid by the country's Special Investigating Unit at the offices of SAFA in March "where an assortment of electronic gadgets and files were seized for further investigation, thus leading to the arrest,” police spokesperson Katlego Mogale said.

Court appearance

According to the police, Jordaan was arrested with one other official and a businessman. They are expected to appear in the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

SAFA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Neither Jordaan nor SAFA responded to a request for comment from Reuters, but in his affidavit to court seeking to block his arrest, he denies any wrongdoing.

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